A new 'dark age' for English football - or a new dawn?

By Gary Morley, CNN

Updated 8:35 AM ET, Thu December 13, 2012

A new 'dark age' for English football?7 photos

Return of the English hooligan? – This image of a bloodied and defiant Rio Ferdinand has been at the forefront of a perceived return of hooliganism in English football, following crowd trouble at the Manchester derby.

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A new 'dark age' for English football?7 photos

Pitch invasion – Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart confronts a pitch invader trying to harass Manchester United's Ferdinand, who had been hit in the face by a coin thrown from the crowd.

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A new 'dark age' for English football?7 photos

Late drama – United's players celebrate Robin Van Persie's decisive late goal in a 3-2 victory -- which was met by missiles and smoke bombs hurled by City supporters.

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A new 'dark age' for English football?7 photos

Angry fans – A total of 13 fans were arrested and nine charged -- one with making alleged racist chants. Here a City supporter shouts across the police security cordon.

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A new 'dark age' for English football?7 photos

Kick it out – Ferdinand, left, wore a t-shirt supporting the anti-racism group Kick It Out in October, having earlier refused to do so in protest at a perceived leniency in punishment for John Terry, who was accused of racially abusing the United player's younger brother Anton. Kick It Out chairman Herman Ouseley has also criticized the English FA and the Premier League for failing to take strong action in recent high-profile racism cases.

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A new 'dark age' for English football?7 photos

Bassong abused – The day before the Manchester derby, a man was arrested and charged for racially abusing Norwich's Cameroon international Sebastien Bassong in a Premier League match at Swansea. Norwich later revealed that police are investigating four separate racist attacks on Bassong.

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A new 'dark age' for English football?7 photos

Guidelines needed – Clarke Carlisle is the chairman of the English players' union. He has called for the FA to take its chance to address problems that have been ignored for years. "Previously there were behaviors that we have just passed off as 'Ah, that's football,' " he told CNN.

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Story highlights

English football's ruling bodies face criticism after increase in bad behavior by fans

Violence during Sunday's Manchester derby has sparked fury in British media

That the Premier League's two leading clubs could be involved in such a poor advert for one of the world's most popular and lucrative sporting competitions has led many to question its leaders.

The headlines point to a descent back down the slippery slope that resulted in the 1989 Hillsborough and 1985 Heysel stadium tragedies. The latter occurred when fighting fans at the European Cup final caused a crush that killed 39 supporters of Italian club Juventus.

United edge fiery Manchester derby 8 photos

United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Passions run high – Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart of confronts a pitch invader at the end of his side's 3-2 derby defeat by Manchester United, whose defender Rio Ferdinand (at back) was left with a bloody face after being hit by a coin thrown from the crowd.

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United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Beautiful game's ugly side – Police intervened to eject the invader, and the Greater Manchester force also announced after the match that another man was arrested inside City's Etihad Stadium on suspicion of chanting racist abuse.

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United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Van the Man – The match was settled in the second minute of time added on by Manchester United's Dutch striker Robin Van Persie.

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United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Hole in the wall – Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri (left) diverted Van Persie's free kick past Hart as he backed off from his position in the defensive wall.

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United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Rooney double – Wayne Rooney had put United 2-0 ahead inside half an hour, with the 27-year-old becoming the youngest player to score 150 goals in the English Premier League.

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United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Turning point? – United should have gone 3-0 ahead just before the hour mark but Ashley Young's effort was ruled out in a marginal offside decision. City hit back immediately through midfielder Yaya Toure.

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United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Zabaleta the savior? – Pablo Zabaleta, right, fired an equalizer in the 86th minute to give second-placed City hope of extending a 21-game unbeaten league run that went back to last season's title-winning climax.

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United edge fiery Manchester derby8 photos

Six-point gap – However, Van Persie's 11th EPL goal since signing from Arsenal for $38 million in August left City six points behind leaders United after 16 matches.

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants 8 photos

Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

West Ham controversy – West Ham have already banned one fan for life after he was cautioned by police for "racially aggravated gesturing" during their match with Tottenham on Sunday. West Ham's fans are also reported to have aired songs about Adolf Hitler. The FA are to investigate. Tottenham won the game 3-1 with Gareth Bale (left) on the scoresheet.

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

FA to probe chants – Neither West Ham manager Sam Allardyce (L) or his Tottenham counterpart Andre Villas-Boas were keen to wade into the controversy. Allardyce told reporters at a post match press call: "I don't want to be a political animal -- I'm here to talk about football."

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

Benayoun disappointed – West Ham's Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun took to Twitter to express his view of the chants. He said: "I was very disappointed to hear some of the songs yesterday and it was embarrassing. But we need to remember that it was made by a minority group of fans and I'm sure the FA together with West Ham will do everything to find and punish them."

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

Rome attack – A group of Tottenham fans were attacked before their recent Europa League match with Lazio as they drank in the city center. One supporter is still in hospital suffering from stab wounds. West Ham's fans allegedly made reference to the incident in their chants.

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

Anti-Semitic accusation – A section of Lazio fans unfurled a "Free Palestine" banner during the 0-0 Europa League draw with Tottenham, which was marred by anti-Semitic chanting from the home supporters. Tottenham traditionally have a strong Jewish following.

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

Clattenburg cleared – Just last week Chelsea's complaint that Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg aimed racist language at midfielder Jon Obi Mikel was dismissed by the Football Association due to a lack of evidence.

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

Terry charged – Chelsea's John Terry (L) was found not guilty in a criminal court of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand but received a four-match ban from the FA and a $356,000 fine for calling his opponent a "f*****g black c***."

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Hammers vow action on anti-Semitic chants8 photos

Suarez banned – Liverpool's Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez served an eight-match ban in the 2011/12 season for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. Suarez maintained his innocence but Liverpool were heavily criticized for their handling of the case.

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The Heysel stadium disaster 15 photos

The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

A decade of disasters – In the space of four years in the 1980s, a total of 191 people died in three stadium disasters at Bradford, Heysel and Hillsborough.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Heysel horror – Thirty-nine fans -- 32 from Italy, four from Belgium, two from France, one from Northern Ireland, the youngest just 11 years old -- were killed in a stampede before the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus at the Heysel Stadium in May 1985.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

'The English disease' – In the decade before Heysel there had been a history of trouble surrounding English supporters at European matches on the continent, notably Tottenham Hotspur in Rotterdam in 1974 and 1983, Leeds United in Paris in 1975 and Manchester United in Saint-Etienne in 1977. Violence had also ominously flared between English and Italian supporters when Liverpool played Roma in the 1984 European Cup final in Italy's capital. Liverpool won the game on penalties.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Recipe for disaster – Sixty-five years after its construction in 1920, Heysel was crumbling. The outer wall was made of cinder block, and fans who didn't have tickets were seen kicking holes in it to get in. Heysel's Sector Z terrace had grass poking through the crumbling concrete while flimsy wire-netting separated the Liverpool and Juve fans.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

'That cursed night' – Michel Platini, who is now UEFA president, scored Juve's winning goal in a 1-0 victory, though he was criticized at the time for celebrating. "On that far away spring day I was a player who had not yet turned 30, happy go lucky, like many supporters who on that day made it to Brussels for the love of Juve and who unfortunately never returned, having been ripped away from their loved ones that cursed night," the Frenchman said in 2010.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

'The cup of death' – "For me that cup will always be covered in death," wrote Juve defender Antonio Cabrini in his autobiography. "The cup of death."

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

'A story of forgetting' – Heysel is a story of "incompetence, violence, cover-up, shame and lies," writes British historian John Foot -- the author of the authoritative history of Italian football "Calcio."

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

'Thirty-nine angels' – "I'm happy that sometimes there is someone who remembers the tragedy," Rosalina Vannini Gonnelli told CNN. "Many years have passed. People had forgotten soon after it happened, so now there's no way. The 39 angels will always be in the memories of their loved ones."

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Forlorn Fagan – "Whenever I think of Heysel, the first image that springs to mind is the expression on Joe Fagan's face as the terrifying scenes of crowd violence escalated to the point where the game that had been his whole life no longer meant anything. At the end, he looked a broken man," wrote former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen of the club's manager in his autobiography "A Matter of Opinion."

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Heysel rebuilt – Liverpool met Juventus in a competitive match for the first time since that fateful day in 2005's Champions League quarterfinal tie. Liverpool won 2-1 on aggregate and went on to to win the European Cup after beating AC MIlan on penalties in Istanbul.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Amicizia? – Striker Ian Rush, right, spent one season at Juve in 1987-88 between two spells at Liverpool. Before the first leg of the 2005 quarterfinal at Anfield, Liverpool supporters held up a mosaic to form the word "Amicizia" (friendship). Some of the visiting Juve fans applauded, but many turned their backs in disgust. There is also a Heysel memorial plaque at Liverpool's Anfield Stadium.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Juve remembrance – Juventus officials insist the Serie A club has never forgotten the victims of the Heysel disaster. "The families of the victims are always welcome at the club, the museum and the stadium -- for free," said a Juve spokeswoman.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Cannavaro respect – Former Juve defender Fabio Cannavaro attended a memorial ceremony for the victims of the Heysel stadium disaster prior to a friendly international between Italy and Mexico in Brussels on June 3, 2010 -- the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Heysel renamed – A decade after the Heysel disaster the ground was rebuilt and renamed the King Baudouin Stadium.The new ground had a plaque dedicated to the disaster, though it had no names of the victims, before, in 2005, a monument that did include the 39 victims' names was unveiled.

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The Heysel stadium disaster15 photos

Memories linger on – Former Juve striker Alessandro del Piero this year told Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport that Liverpool made an approach to him while he was in discussions with Sydney FC but he "thought about what happened at Heysel" before opting for a move to Australia. "Liverpool have worked hard to mend their relationship, but for a lot of people it's something that can never be forgotten," added Del Piero.

But there is another view to counter this week's media hysteria -- namely that football is only now facing up to realities deep at the heart of its foundations to which society has turned a blind eye for years.

What's more, this could be a vital turning-point in trying to eradicate behavior that would not be tolerated in everyday life.

"Previously there were behaviors that we have just passed off as 'Ah, that's football,' " said Clarke Carlisle, chairman of the English Professional Footballers' Association.

"Aggressive behavior in crowds, aggressive chanting, throwing things onto the pitch, certain levels of abuse -- people have been all too happy to say 'It's at a football match,' " he told CNN.

"Now the tolerance levels for behavior like that are coming right down. That's why we're seeing increased numbers of incidents reported, of fans making monkey gestures in isolation, small numbers of people throwing things on the pitch.

"It has been happening for a while but now we are clamping down on these anti-social behaviors."

Arrests at Premier League matches actually dropped by 30% last season, but conversely the numbers for race-related transgressions have been steadily rising.

The world is watching

The images of blood dripping from the face of Rio Ferdinand after the former England captain was hit by a coin thrown from the crowd on Sunday, and then of the Manchester United defender being confronted by a pitch-invading City fan -- all broadcast worldwide -- have been a lightning rod for criticism after a year of damaging controversies both in the Premier League and the lower divisions.

But Carlisle, a former top-flight player now plying his trade in the fourth tier, believes it has just highlighted something that has been a regular occurrence for years.

"There's been a shift in people's acceptance of these behaviors," said Clarke.

"We're expecting people to behave far more reasonably at football matches, we are expecting the football authorities to take control of the situation with all the technology they have available, and we are expecting repercussions for those behaviors, for people to be accountable whether it's a player, a referee, club official or a fan."

Moral vacuum?

However, there is a growing perception in Britain that those in power are not doing enough -- despite strongly worded statements by the likes of Bernstein.

Herman Ouseley, chairman of the anti-racism group Kick It Out, has criticized the FA and the Premier League in their handling of the John Terry/Luis Suarez cases in the past year, labeling it "12 months wasted in hypocrisy."

The Manchester incidents completely overshadowed Saturday's events at another EPL game hosted by Swansea, where a man was arrested and charged after Norwich defender Sebastien Bassong complained of being racially abused.

Norwich revealed later that police are investigating four cases of racial attacks on the Cameroon international in the past fortnight, three of them on social networking website Twitter.

Coming soon after two West Ham fans were arrested for alleged anti-Semitic abuse of Tottenham supporters last month, and several other troubling incidents this season, it doesn't paint a healthy picture of English football --- but shows the size of the challenge faced by the authorities.

Clarke said the question of suitable punishments requires an all-inclusive approach.

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"It's easy for me to say a fan should get 'X' punishment, just as it's easy for a fan to say a player should get 'Y,' " he said.

"If we have some kind of consultation across the board to establish acceptable parameters or unacceptable behavior then we will be seen to be putting something into place that everyone has had an input in."

Guidelines needed

The FA is working with the British government to work out ways of dealing with football's problems, and Clarke says this will only be effective if there is a clear set of guidelines laid down for all areas of the game.

"The biggest change we need in football is some kind of protocol for issues that have come to pass over the past year," he said, when asked about club managers such as Kenny Dalglish and Andre Villas-Boas publicly defending their players Luis Suarez and John Terry while racism investigations were ongoing.

"We haven't got any definitive outlines on what should happen when there are incidents of discrimination, especially racial abuse. It's very much a gray area. The defenses go up at the club, they have their own brand and their own assets to protect.

"This is all before official investigation and procedure is taking place to ascertain whether that is valid support of the player or club. I think the first thing we need to do is to have a protocol where everyone knows exactly what should happen in these incidents, exactly what behaviors are expected of the people involved, of the club employees and of the press, as well."

He said the incident involving referee Mark Clattenburg, who was accused of racially abusing a Chelsea player before being cleared, showed both the improvements football has made and yet how far it still has to go.

"Procedurally it was a real step forward: something was claimed, it was reported, it was investigated and conclusion was drawn. I think that was outstanding, it was done promptly as well," he said.

"But because the whole issue went into the press and speculative domain instantly, there were questions that were being proffered and answered that people didn't really have the grounds to answer.

"A lot of speculation was drawn and it's possible and plausible that Mark Clattenburg's character had been tainted on the back of that. I believe we need a definitive outline on the protocol in such incidents."

Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer 9 photos

Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Walter Tull – Walter Tull became the first black outfield player to play in the English top flight when he signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 1909. Tull was the subject of racist abuse, with one particular match against Bristol City leading to Tottenham selling him to Northampton Town.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Tottenham's Tull – Tull had joined Spurs -- he is pictured here with his Spurs teammates sitting in the front row to the very right -- after helping Clapton F.C. win the Amateur Cup, London Senior Cup and London County Amateur Cup. He made his debut for Spurs at the age of 21.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Fatally wounded at Favreuil – The First World War broke out in 1914, with Tull signing up to the 17th Service Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, otherwise known as The Football Battalion. He became the first black officer to lead troops into battle, although he was never officially recognized. Tull was fatally wounded by machine gun fire in the French town of Favreuil in 1918.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Center stage – A play telling Tull's story is set for a run at Bolton's Octagon theatre, beginning on February 21. Nathan Ives-Moiba (left) will play Tull and he is pictured here with the Octagon's artistic director David Thacker (right). The pair are pictured alongside former footballer Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch while playing for Bolton Wanderers earlier this year.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Rose's outrage – Parallels have been drawn between Tull's plight and that of Danny Rose, who claimed he was subjected to racist abuse during an England Under-21 match in Serbia last week. European football's governing body UEFA are investigating the matter.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Serbia scuffle – Rose claims he was subjected to monkey chants before, during and after the match against Serbia and had stones thrown at him by the crowd in Krusevac. Fans also ran on to the pitch and scuffles broke out after a 1-0 win secured England qualification for Euro 2013.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Roberts' refusal – Last weekend Reading's Grenadian striker Jason Roberts, who has played in England for the last 15 years, was one of a number of black players who refused to wear the Kick It Out T-shirt in protest at what he perceives to be the campaign group's lack of action in combating racism in football.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

Black footballers' association – Rio Ferdinand was another player who opted not to wear the Kick It Out T-shirt. The Manchester United defender is reportedly involved in talks to set up a separate black footballers' association.

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Walter Tull: Black footballing pioneer9 photos

The first black international – Andrew Watson is another pioneering black footballer. In 1881 he became the first black international player when he represented Scotland in a match with England.

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It has emerged that the FA is considering cultural lessons for foreign players in order to prevent a repeat of the Suarez-Patrice Evra case last season, where the Liverpool striker was banned eight matches for constantly taunting the Manchester United defender with the term "negrito" during a match.

Liverpool's lawyers argued that it was an acceptable, and often affectionate, term in Suarez's native Uruguay -- but the FA ruled that it had much more negative connotations in Britain.

"There is very much a line of thought that we expect people to know what the levels of acceptability and tolerance are over here when it comes to abuse, discrimination etc. I don't think we should do that," Clarke said.

"There shouldn't be any gray areas. If we're expecting people to adhere to certain values and a disciplinary schedule then it's our duty to ensure they know what those values are. It's an excellent idea to get rid of any ambiguities for players coming from overseas who may not be familiar with our values."

A new era?

Ouseley, the first black person to lead Britain's Commission for Racial Equality, is planning to stand down from his role on the FA Council, according to the Guardian.

The 67-year-old has been frustrated by an apparent lack of progress by the ruling body. He would be "a big loss" to football's anti-racism cause, Clarke said.

"But that opens the door for somebody else to fill that space. His experience will definitely be a loss, but it doesn't have to be a loss to the initiative -- the ideals and the ethos can still be carried forward. It's an opportunity for the FA to carry on their diversity principles."